In The Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak ADKHBk Awarded the Caldecott Honor Award in 1971, this book received the positive attention that it deserved. It is listed as one of the top 100 challenged books between the years of by the ALA. It is actually listed as number quentlychallenged/challengedbydecade/2000_2009/

Scenario: An elementary school in a rural area of the country has added a new title to their collection – In The Night Kitchen, by Maurice Sendak. The book was chosen based on the history of children enjoying other titles by this author; reviews that gave positive responses to the whimsical portrayals of a little boys dream, and the lyrical word choices that are seen as being a good choice for efforts to increase literacy in the schools population. A first grader checks out the book during its first week on the shelves. Excited to be taking home a brand new book, the child excitedly shows it to his mom. The mother’s excitement does not match the child’s. She takes the book and tells the child to go play. Discussing it with her husband later, he shares her concern that the book contains inappropriate material for their child. They decide to contact the principal of the school the next day. Although confused, the child accepts the explanation that he/she will be allowed to choose another book later that day. The principal listens respectfully to the parents, takes possession of the book, bids them farewell, and calls the librarian down to the office. The librarian is confronted with several issues: The principal does not like being put in a situation where he/she feels blind sided by something that they view as preventable and embarrassing; wants to know why such a book was chosen in the first place; and wants to know what the librarian intends to do to make the situation go away. The librarian faces a situation that she/he had hoped that she would never have to – but has no choice but do so.

Based on policies in place in the school district where I work: o “The librarian consults with the published manual for the district. There are policies in place for dealing with this issue. The objection was brought to the principal first, the media coordinator was the second in line to receive this objection. The next step would be to inform the complainants the procedure for reviewing the item in question. The complainant is invited to fill out the official Request for Reconsideration Form. The form should be presented to the Media Advisory Board within 15 days of the initial complaint. The district Media Supervisor is to be advised of the complaint. The item in question will not be removed from circulation until a decision is made. If the proper form is not returned to the principal, or the item in question is not returned, the complaint is not given further consideration.

Once these initial steps are taken, the item is examined by the media specialist, the principal, and the members of the advisory committee. o The process will include reviewing the connected educational materials that accompany the item. Carefully examining the book reviews that were used when choosing the item to begin with, and evaluating the worth of the item as it contributes to the curriculum expectations of the school. o Once a conclusion is reached regarding the item, the committee will prepare a written recommendation. Copies of the letter will be sent to all interested parties. An appeal process has been put in place should any of the concerned parties not agree with the recommendation of the committee. There is a form for this purpose as well, called a Citizen’s Request for Review of Building-Level Recommendation. A 15 day window of opportunity for submittal has been set. If the appeal is filed in the designated time, there will be a committee formed by the school superintendent. The members will be composed of professional educators, media advisory committee members from the school where the original complaint came from and members of the local community. The item will be revaluated according to the procedure previously followed in the first review. The superintendent’s representative will issue a written statement within five days stating the decision of the committee. Copies will be sent to all stake holders. Should a further appeal be asked for, the process will be taken to the School Board level. These members shall have final say concerning the item.

The item can be brought for review again after a year from the initial complaint. However, the School Board decision will be the final authority on the issue.” (These procedures are paraphrased from the established policies of the Rowan Salisbury School System.)

A facsimile of the reconsideration form for the Rowan Salisbury School System Please return this form to the Principal: Name of person making request: __________________________________________________ Address: __________________City________________St______ZipCode__________________ Complainant represents: ___________self ____________organization Name of organization___________________ Phone number______________________ Are you a parent /guardian of a student in this school system? _________ grade ____________ Name of school owning the item in question ______________________________ Title of item ________________________________________________ Format _____________ Author/artist ___________________________________________________________________ Publisher/producer _____________________________ Copyright date ____________________ How did you acquire this item?_____________________________________________________ Did you review, read or listen to the entire item? ______________________________________ If not, what part? ________________________________________________________________ What do you object to about this item specifically? _____________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ What do you feel would result from a student having access to this item? ___________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Are you aware of any evaluations of this item by authoritative sources? _____________________ Other comments _________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________ _________________________ Signature of complainant date ________________________________ ____________________________ Signature of person receiving complaint date received

Facsimile of the form used by the Rowan Salisbury School System for appealing a school level decision: Name of person making request: ________________________________________________ Address: ________________________________________________________________________ Complainant represents : self ________________ Organization _______________ Phone number __________________________ Are you a parent/guardian of a student in the school system? ________yes _______no grade of student _______________ Title of item ____________________________________________ Format ____________________________________ Author/artist ____________________________________________________________- Publisher/producer ____________________________________________ Copyright date _____________________________________ Are you aware of the reasons for the school-level decision regarding this resource? ________yes __________no What aspects of this decision do wish to have reviewed? _____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Do you have additional comments to add about this issue? __________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________ ________________________________ Signature of complainant date

Facsimile of the form used by the media advisory committee when reviewing an item in question: School ________________________________________________ Title of item ____________________________________________ Author/artist/composer _________________________________ Format _______________________ PURPOSE: What is the overall purpose of this material? ____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________ REVIEWS: o Sources of reviews: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ o Did it receive favorable reviews? _____yes ____no o Does this title have recommendations from reputable sources? _____yes ____no o Does this title appear in a reputable bibliographies? _____yes ____no AUTHENTICITY: o Is the author/artist/composer competent/qualified in their category? ________ yes _________no o Is the material up to date? _______yes _______no o Are information sources well documented? ______yes __________ no o Does the material promote or support the curriculum goals of the system? _____yea ________no APPROPRIATENESS : o Is it appropriate to the level of instruction intended? _______yes ____no o Are the illustrations appropriate to the subject and/or age levels? ________yes _____no CONTENT: o Is the content of this material well presented is the areas of scope, range, depth and continuity? ________yes _______no

This form will be signed and dated by each member of the review committee. There will also be a written recommendation from the committee on the treatment of the item in question. There is a separate form for use with fiction titles. This form asks questions such as: o Does the material have literary value o Does it have any other value o Is it appropriate to age level o Is it appropriate to the use intended o Are there weaknesses in presentation or material A check list is available to the parties involved so that each participant can be aware of where the process stands and the time constraints that are involved. o Materials are the intellectual property of the Rowan Salisbury School System

The objection comes from the fact that the little boy falls out of his clothes. The nudity is objectionable to some readers. The subsequent pages do show an anatomically correct drawing of a little boy. On first review, I agree that this illustration seems inappropriate and unnecessary for the telling of the story. However, when the story is read carefully, it seems obvious that the author needs the “milky white” skin to send the boy into the story line. He would not be mistaken for the milk in the cake recipe if he were dressed. My decision would be that the illustrations are appropriate for the story line and are not objectionable when taken in the context of the story. ”But right in the middle of the steaming and the making and the smelling and the baking Mickey poked through and said: I’m not the milk and the milk’s not me! I’m Mickey!” Maurice Sendak

My hypothetical response: Response to the complainant: Upon review of the book by the Media Specialist of the school in question, the Media Advisory Board and the principal, it is the decision to retain this book in the collection. The book will remain in circulation, however, the complainant will be allowed to request that their child not check out this particular title. The appeal process remains an option if this does not satisfy the complainant. All stakeholders will receive a dated, signed copy of the results statement.